The Colorado Department of Education announced the creation of a rural education council on Friday.

The purpose of the council will be to conduct research, oversee, support and advocate for the needs and concerns of school districts in rural Colorado. Its first meeting will be on Thursday Dec. 15. in Denver. Following meetings will be held around the state.

“Superintendents feel that the reform initiatives coming from Denver and Washington, D.C., one after another, have not really addressed the needs or concerns of rural schools. Moreover, some districts reported that while they are still trying to implement initiatives from the past three years, the state has added additional programs or mandates. This churn of new initiatives and reform efforts has led to considerable frustration and distrust,” the report states.

Among the larger concerns highlighted in that study: fatigue of too much reporting with little staff to help, fear of state consolidation, and not having a voice in the state.

“The Rural Education Council will provide ongoing feedback to me and the Department on the unique needs of rural communities and school districts throughout the state and how those needs can be supported by the Department,” education commissioner Robert Hammond said in a news release. “We are making good on our pledge to better meet the needs of rural districts.”

Colorado Classroom provides ground-level reporting on what’s going on in the state’s public schools and on college campuses, looking at people, places, issues, trends and innovative approaches to education.